


A Destiny Chosen

by snowstormjonerys



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-10
Updated: 2014-09-10
Packaged: 2018-02-16 21:56:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2285823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowstormjonerys/pseuds/snowstormjonerys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is post Terminus, post Bethyl reunion, and is written for the sole purpose of inducing Bethyl feels. It encompasses the prompts from Bethyl week in a 6 chapter story arc of Beth and Daryl's journey through their feelings for one another and what it means to find love and hope in a hopeless place. Hope you enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Destiny Chosen

So I had this head canon for Bethyl week and the prompt given to us.

"I don't have a choice, but I'd still choose you"

A Chosen Destiny

Daryl didn't have a choice. Didn't figure he ever really had when he thought about it. At least, not when it came to how he felt about Beth Greene. The way she just worked her way into his thoughts at every turn and her faith in things had seeped in, settling in like permanent ink bleeding into fabric. Like now, when it was his turn to take watch and he was watching her sleep. She had taken to sleeping next to him whenever he had watch and tonight was no exception and his thoughts drifted to her and how things were with them now.

When he had watch, he sat away from the fire, usually propped himself up against some tree or other permanent piece of landscape. He was now propped against a concrete bench on the edge of the cemetery, far enough from the fire so he couldn't get too warm and fall asleep and far enough away from the fences so he could be relatively sure walkers couldn't grab him through the slats. They were camped out at the edge of a cemetery and it was clear as far as the eye could see. The moon was hanging low in the sky this early in the night and the silvery yellow light it cast on the gravestones was oddly comforting when it should have been eerie.

They had found this spot late in the evening when it was nearing dark and due to the fact of the late hour and impending dark, they had reluctantly decided to make camp here. They had looked solidly for the previous couple of hours and nothing they found seemed to be suitable. Rick and Michonne had scouted ahead a couple of times but every house they found was either so far beyond livable with all the time that had passed since the world had gone to absolute shit or it was too exposed to be able to protect them all. At least here, the small cemetery was enclosed by wrought iron fences and while most would think it morbid, it felt safer being in the resting place of the deceased. At least here they could be sure that the dead that lay a few feet away were not going to rise up and reach their hands up through the earth, their rotting fingers grabbing for whatever flesh they could find.

Everyone had camped along the edges of the graveyard, a tacit agreement among them to stay off anything near headstones, being ever respectful of the ones who had passed before them, had passed before everything had gone bad. It reminded Daryl a lot of the cemetery he had carried Beth through on the way to the funeral parlor. Those had been happy days, some of the happiest he could remember. And then she had been taken from him.

He shook his head to clear it. It was a time in his life that he really didn't want to think too hard on. He had been devastated when she was gone, her words haunting him.

You're going to miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon.

Had he ever. Missed her like the earth misses the rain during a drought. He figured that described how he had felt the best. When she had disappeared, he had felt just empty, dry, like nothing could ever quench the burn he felt in his gut when he got to missing her, which was almost every single minute his hands or his mind weren't busy. So during those weeks they were separated, he had tried very hard to stay busy, his hands always on a task, his mind always trying to figure out a way to get them out of one scuffle or another; and there was always was. It was just the way the world was now.

But when he had found her with Morgan, Carol following the trail with him, encouraging him when he felt like all but giving up, all rational thought had gone out the window. She looked different, so different, but also the same. Her hair was down, the ponytail with that incessant braid now gone. Her face had filled out a bit but the sharpness was still there and he found himself mesmerized by all the subtle changes he saw. He had missed her. Had missed her easy smile, the way it reached her eyes and lit up her whole face. It took his breath away. Had missed the way she saw straight through his bullshit and called him out on it. She was the only one who had ever had the guts to stand up to his bullish ways.

She had stood across the clearing where they had all just put down a whole mess of walkers at the small compound they had finally stumbled on tracking one of the many cars they had seen with the white cross on the back, just like the one on the car that had taken Beth from him that night. Everyone around them had just stopped and stared as she came out from behind Morgan, her chest heaving with the recent exertion. She had stared at him for a moment and then took off running, throwing herself against him and winding her arms around his neck. He had stood stock still then, unsure if it was really real, but when she began sobbing against his chest he had been helpless to do anything but just follow what his heart was guiding him to do and he had brought his arms around her and pulled her fully into his embrace. Moments could have passed or it could have been hours and their whole group had just stood there watching them. He could feel their eyes on them and he didn't give a damn what anyone thought. He had found her. Despite the odds that she was dead or worse, they had found one another again.

They had since found out that Beth had been hit by the car that night they fled the funeral home. Morgan had been driving and said she had seemed to come out of nowhere and he had tried to stop, but there hadn't been enough time. She hadn't been seriously injured but she had been in and out of consciousness for a few days.

He had a chance to talk to Morgan a few nights after they found them. By then, they had all left the compound heading to D.C. They actually worked pretty well as a group and though Daryl had wanted to kill Morgan when they first found her, he had since come to respect him. That night he and Morgan had spoken, he had filled Daryl in on all that had transpired since he and Beth were separated. Morgan had quietly told him how Beth had talked about Daryl and told him everything that had happened before and after the fall of the prison.

Daryl didn't think he had breathed the whole time Morgan spoke, absorbing every word like a man dying of thirst. And in a way, he was; a man needing to fill a void and Morgan had woven the tale, telling of when Beth had woken up and her first word had been 'Daryl'. Morgan had thought she would never wake up those first few hours so he had taken her back to the compound which also housed a triage hospital, forged together by ramshackle tents and make-shift structures. When she had woken up and healed completely, she had been introspective for a while but Morgan told him as she had gotten to know him better, she had opened up and they had both chuckled at Beth's penchant for talking. Daryl knew that alright. She never shut up. And that's when Morgan had told him.

"She loves you," Morgan had said.

Daryl had looked up at him sharply then. "She say that?" He hadn't wanted to ask the question, it had just spilled out from between his lips before he could stop them, much like everything did now where Beth was concerned.

Morgan had looked at him pointedly then. "Does she need to?"

His answer had taken Daryl's breath and he hadn't gotten it back yet. It was like a dam had broken when they had their fight at the moonshine shack, as he had come to think of it. Something had happened that night; something good. Something that felt right as nothing had ever felt before for him. He had seen Beth in a new light. No longer the kid who had tried to off herself back at the farm. No longer the girl who had lovingly taken a baby in her arms and cared for her as though she were her own.

Somewhere between running away from the prison that horrible day Hershel had died and her insistence that they find a "damn drink", she had transformed into a beautiful, fierce woman. And lately was no different. If anything, she was more beautiful, more fierce and now seemed more determined than ever in making him face what they were feeling for one another. She challenged him at every turn. She always had. Lately, he would find her watching him, waiting for him to make a move. Waiting for him to own up to his feelings. She had already laid hers out plain and he didn't have to guess.

"I love you Daryl. You're all I thought about when we were separated. I cried myself to sleep every night and you filled my dreams. I hoped every morning when I opened my eyes, you would be beside me. If we don't have hope, what's the sense of living?" Hershel's voice always seem to echo off her words and then reverberate off the walls of his mind when he reflected on them later. "Hope is what we have found here Daryl. You and me. We have a hope that we can find happiness. In each other." Those latest words had been spoken just a few hours ago when they had been hunting for game for supper. She had gotten pretty good with the bow just like he had shown her and she had found her own while they were apart. He swelled with pride every time he saw her bag a catch from her sure and steady aim.

He hadn't said anything and he glanced to her now beside him, his eyes coming to rest on her face. He hadn't expected her eyes to be open, the distant campfire reflecting off them. She looked at him as though she were waiting for him to say something.

"You're supposed to be sleepin' Greene," he gently admonished her as he brought his thumb to his mouth, chewing absently on the tip.

"I'd rather watch you." She said, so sure of herself. Always so sure.

His breath caught in his chest the way it always did when she said things like that. He had been close to telling her how he felt once and then she had disappeared.

Beth sat up then and scooted closer to him where he was propped against the stone bench towards the gate. It was a good perch; he could see the landscape from all sides of the small cemetery and would know if a herd approached from any direction. He shifted a bit and moved his arm from the back of the bench as she propped herself up beside him and he wondered briefly if the cold stone of the bench was biting into her back like it was his. He moved his arm again, shifting it so it draped across her shoulders and he wasn't quite sure what to do with his hand so he just let it dangle in the air.

Beth turned her head a bit and smiled up at him, reaching her hand up to his and pressing it against her shoulder firmly and tucking her head against his shoulder, her hair cascading down over her own shoulders and spilling against his as well. That was one of the many things that was different about her now. She wore her hair down most of the time, unless they were hunting. She put it up then, her concentration fierce when she was trekking with him.

Sometimes he longed for the ponytail again, wanting childishly to pull on it like some schoolboy with a hopeless crush. But for now he let himself feel how her hair tickled the back of his knuckles and he resisted the urge to wind his fingers through it. It killed him when they were like this. He felt like he was holding so much back because he just quite simply did not know how to tell her how he felt, even if she was giving him permission.

He could see it in everyone's expressions. They all knew. They all fucking knew what was going on. And sometimes he wished someone would call him out on it. But no one did; no one except Beth. He loved that about her. Hell, he loved everything about her. For the life of him, he couldn't remember a time when he hadn't loved her. He loved her?

She sighed against his shoulder. "Do you think about it?," she whispered in the dark.

"'Bout what?," His fingers were gripping her shoulder lightly and as if they had a mind of their own, they squeezed her gently, probing for an answer.

"Bout that night at the funeral home?," she said. "Before….when we were sittin' at the table and you were eating those god-awful pigs' feet," she chuckled softly then and he could feel her shoulders shaking slightly with the memory.

He laughed softly and the sound was foreign, even to him. But she did that to him. Made him feel things. Made him think things. Made him think that all this was possible; this thing with the two of them.

"Yeah, I think about it. What about it?" Daryl was trying to play it off but he knew exactly what she was asking him.

"You know," she said, using his own words against him, the little minx. It was just like her.

She sat up then and pulled away and he missed her warmth instantly and he turned to look at her.

Beth reached up and placed her hand to the side of his face and the skin of her palm was so soft, he wanted to turn his head to the side a bit and kiss it but instead he just looked at her and hoped she knew what he was feeling by looking at her. The way he always looked at her.

"Yeah I know," he said then. "You did. You changed my mind, Beth." He finally answered the question that hung between them that night. The one he tried to communicate by the way he was looking at her and he remembered her expression then, the way she hadn't even blinked and just said "Oh".

But he didn't do that now. Something about this cemetery was bringing them back to that night and suddenly he wanted to tell her. Wanted to tell her how much she had changed him, his way of thinking, his outlook on life, on the world. And that while the world had gone to shit, with her beside him, he knew there were still good people in the world and she was the best of them.

Beth smiled at his answer then, knowingly, always with her way about her. So fucking sure where he was so reticent. "I knew that," her eyes sparkled at him in the soft glow of the moon and she brushed her thumb over the scruff on his face and then let her hand drop to his arm, coming to rest on his biceps and she gave his arm a gentle squeeze.

He let out the breath he had been holding and he felt for the first time he could finally just let go. Let it all go. Maybe it was the cemetery unleashing all the memories of their time they spent together, just the two of them. Maybe it was the moonlight bathing them in its pale silvery glow, but he felt lighter. His heart felt lighter and he wanted her to know it.

The hell of it was, not much had changed in the way Daryl was able to express himself. He didn't know if that was ever going to change, but he was going to try. For her, he was going to try. For her, he would do anything. "I feel it too, Beth. It's not just you." His voice was hoarse and he knew it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough but it was a start.

She tilted her head to the side and she grinned at him then, as if she knew some kind of secret only she was privy to. But there was no secret here, not anymore. They both knew what they were heading towards. For the first time, Daryl didn't feel afraid of it.

"Then tell me," Beth challenged him then. "Tell me how you feel." She whispered, her eyes searching his face, imploring him to elaborate on his statement.

He stared at her for a long second and could hear his heart pounding in his chest and he figured it was now or never. There would never be a better time. But instead of telling her, he decided he could show her. He turned his body slightly so he was facing her and he was very aware of how her body was so close to his and he knew all he would have to do is lean ever so slightly and so he did. He leaned forward as he looked right into her eyes and he moved his hand up to her face and caressed it much like she had just done his. He glided his hand over the side of her face until it met with her hair, the soft strands beckoning his fingers as he wound them through the soft blonde tresses, gently until he was cupping the back of her head and pulled her towards him, his lips finding hers as their eyes fluttered closed.

He was shaking so bad and he swore he could hear his heart thundering beneath his leather vest and as he kissed her, he heard something else; her sigh against his lips as he kissed her tenderly, lightly; he thought he might have sighed too. He angled his head a bit and teased the seam of her almost too soft lips with his tongue and she opened her mouth willingly accepting his tongue against hers and she tasted so sweet, too fucking good and he was heady with the scent of her. He felt like his senses might explode with everything he was feeling. Kissing Beth was like nothing he had ever felt and everything he had ever imagined all rolled into one. Everything he felt for her was wrapped in that kiss and he wanted it go on forever and it kind of did, their mouths growing hungrier as the kiss deepened, their tongues tangling over one another and her hands came up to rest between them, fingers splaying over the seam of his vest and then she slid the leather apart as she sought closer contact, her fingers gripping his shirt and pulling him closer to her.

His head was spinning as he finally, reluctantly, pulled his lips from hers, pulling her now slightly swollen bottom lip in between his and sucking gently for a moment before breaking contact. His breathing was ragged and hers was too. He pulled away then and looked into her eyes, wondering what he would find there and hoped she would still look at him the way she always had.

But she didn't. It was better. He looked at her eyes probing his and her pupils were dilated, the blue having diminished in the black bleeding into them and she had never looked more beautiful to him. He wanted to lose himself in her gaze, in her sweet, sweet lips and just explore. Explore all that they were feeling.

"I love you, Beth." The words tumbled past his lips, still tingling from their kisses and he wasn't even sorry. But he would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous as hell about the admission and what she was going to say.

But he should have known. Should have known how she would smile sweetly at him, her ways always so sure. She sighed as she folded herself into him, her arms coming around his waist and her head coming to rest against his chest. He let his chin rest lightly on the crown of her head, feeling the hair tickle the skin there as he pulled her closer, his arms enveloping her as his hands rested on her, one high gripping the tender skin at her neck and one low, resting on the small of her back. "I love you too, Daryl. I think we're gonna be okay, you know." She said then and he finally let go of the breath he had been holding since Morgan had told him all he knew.

And now Beth knew how he felt too. No, he didn't have a choice in how he felt. But he knew if he was given one, he'd choose her anyways. He would always choose her. Because she was his light in this dark, dark world. She was the hope that drove him on each day. She was his salvation for every way a man needed saving. She was the love he never thought he deserved and he figured he would spend the rest of his life wondering why she had chosen him too, but he was glad she did. He figured it would take a lifetime, but he was going to let her know how he felt. Show her, tell her, it didn't matter. What mattered was that he loved Beth Greene and he always would. No matter what this hellish world threw at him, he was sure of that. Their love was real and it had chosen them.


	2. Something So Right

This prompt follows the "Counting Stars" song by One Republic (one of my fave songs anyway!). I decided to continue yesterday's story "A Destiny Chosen" to make it easier to follow. Hope you like! As usual, I own absolutely nothing.

I feel something so right doing the wrong thing

I feel something so wrong doing the right thing

Could've lied could've lied could've lied

Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly.

Daryl knew it was probably wrong what he was doing with Beth. He figured their paths might never have crossed if the world hadn't gone to shit. Figured even more that he was probably on the fast track to hell for falling for an 18 year old woman. He was damn near 37 years old, definitely old enough to be her daddy. The thought just fucked with his mind anytime he let himself go there; so he didn't for the most part. He thought about her father though and figured he had to have been at least seventy when he died. If Beth was 18 and his math was right, Hershel must have been a hell of a lot older than her mama, so maybe that's why the age difference never seemed to bother her. It didn't seem to bother Maggie either. Hell he guessed the only person it seemed to bother was himself. And when his thoughts went that direction, he told himself to stop being such a pansy-assed little bitch and just go with it. He'd already confessed how he felt after all. There was no way he was going to back out now. He didn't think he could back out even if he tried. He was in too deep to turn back now.

It was just that it felt so right being with Beth, even though it should be wrong. There were a million reasons he shouldn't be with her; that he should insist she find someone her own age. But there was only one that helped him decide it was all okay; the fact that he loved her more than he loved to breathe. Because Daryl figured if Beth ever died, and it wasn't fucking happening on his watch, once the breath left her lungs he would have no need to ever inhale again. He hoped like hell if that ever happened, he'd just go too, because this shithole world wasn't worth a damn living in without Beth in it.

Whenever he was having an attack of conscience and got wrapped up too much in his own head about whether or not he should 'be' with Beth, he drew on the fact that no one else thought it strange, so he couldn't either. It really wasn't the age difference at all when he thought about it. It was that she was so pure, so damned good. So damn beautiful that he knew exactly where all the poets and authors got the phrase "ethereal beauty" from. They must have seen into the future and known that Beth Greene was going to inhabit the earth as a near celestial body. Yes, she was too good for someone like him. Even though she kept telling him that he was, it was going to take a hell of a long time for him to believe it, if he ever did at all.

Just like now, her lying in his arms and hearing her easy breathing, he could turn his head and look down at her, watching her sleeping form and marvel at how her lashes fluttered against her cheeks as she slumbered on, unaware of him watching her. He hoped he didn't seem like a creep or anything, but it made him feel better knowing she was okay. He breathed easier when she was within arm's reach. Ever since she had gotten back to them, he hadn't let her out of his sight for more than a few minutes. Even when she went to the bathroom, she dragged him with her. They had done it when they were alone for such a long time, it had become second nature. Their separation had done nothing to diminish their familiarity with one another. Daryl was glad of that.

In his mind, he had rehearsed it a thousand times how he would approach her. Running to her and pulling her into his arms was the one fantasy he always went to. Then she would look up at him and ask him if he missed her. He'd tell her "hell yes, I missed you!" and then he'd kiss her. He'd imagined it so many times, how soft her lips would be, how she would taste. He imagined she might taste something like the strawberries her hair always smelled like. He leaned down a little and inhaled deeply, smiling when he caught the faint berry whiff, just as he expected. She shifted a little and he held his breath, not wanting to wake her. But when it all came down to it, it hadn't gone down anything like it did in his head. Sure he'd hugged her, but when it came down to kissing her, he chickened out.

"You gonna watch me sleep all night or are you gonna get some shut-eye yourself?" she opened one eye to peer up at him and he saw the corners of her lips turned up in a smirk.

He looked at her in surprise. "Thought you were asleep. 'M sorry. Go back to sleep. I'll settle down in a bit. Can't sleep just yet." It was all he said. He didn't want to tell her he couldn't sleep because all he could do was think about her. He'd lost a lot of sleep in the couple weeks she had been back. When he did, it was restless slumber and he usually woke up aroused as hell. He'd had to get up abruptly a couple times, muttering over his shoulder that he needed to take a piss. It had become downright embarrassing him behaving like a 15 year old boy, but god help him, she did things to him he didn't think were possible anymore.

It wasn't that he was a virgin or anything, though he suspected she was. They hadn't really talked about it yet. They hadn't done much more than kiss, both of them afraid of taking it to the next level and yet enjoying each moment as it happened.

"What's on your mind?" Beth propped herself up on her elbows and turned so she was facing him, her free hand going to his arm and tracing her fingers up his biceps lazily. This was what he liked. This quiet time, just the two of them. They were in the back hallway of the house they had camped out in for the night. It was the only place relatively private and everyone seemed to respect that they needed their time together.

He gazed at her and he was reminded of that time in the funeral parlor that night. When she had asked him another question that he had finally answered. He knew he wasn't going to take as long to answer this one as he did then. He would never waste time with her again. It was too risky a thing.

"Was thinking 'bout us." Daryl propped himself up, mirroring her position and moved his hand to rest on her hip. He loved that he could do that. That he could touch her and she didn't mind. She smiled up at him as he lightly grazed his thumb over her hip just over that small patch of skin that was exposed, her tank top having ridden up in her sleep. He became mesmerized with the alabaster white of her skin and his fingers skimmed a little higher, exposing a couple more inches. He looked up at her then, gauging her reaction to him taking things a little further and her eyes were watching him carefully. Her lips parted just a bit as he skimmed his fingers even higher and he leaned in then, bringing his lips to hers, tentative at first and then claiming them fully as she responded beneath him.

She brought her hand up to his chest and pulled at the lapel of his shirt and pulled him toward her. He growled against her mouth, feeling her warmth against him and he just needed to feel more of her. He angled his mouth over hers again and teased her lower lip with the tip of his tongue and she caught his signal and opened her mouth under hers, allowing his tongue to slip between her lips into her mouth. She tasted like the peaches that they had for dinner. He had become so sick of peaches since the world had gone to shit, but tasting them on Beth's lips was the most delicious thing he had ever had. He skimmed his fingers under her shirt and felt her breath catch and he stopped for a moment and felt her wiggle beneath him. He smiled against her mouth as she became impatient with him and he skimmed his fingers higher, higher then until he was just beneath one perfect rounded breast and he took a deep breath, telling himself that this was right. Their love was right.

Beth seemed to sense his reticence and brought her hand up between them, grasping his wrist in her tiny delicate hand and moving his hand right over her breast and palming the back of his hand and squeezing. He groaned loudly into her mouth and felt himself go harder at her not so subtle hint that she wanted him to touch her there.

Beth moved her hand down away from his hand, traveling lower and lower until she reached button of his jeans. She broke the kiss then and pulled back to look at him bravely. She was no longer smirking. She wasn't smiling. She was….Beth Greene was turned on. Looking at her blown pupils wasn't the only clue. Her lips were parted slightly, her breath coming out in little puffs as he kneaded her breast and skimmed his thumb over her nipple. He nodded at her quickly before lowering his mouth to her neck and kissing along her jaw and lower to her neck, lower still to the neckline of her shirt and then before he knew it he was tugging her shirt up to expose one perfect breast and he looked up at her again and found that she was watching him, her bottom lip tucked prettily between her teeth and he had a thought that he wanted to nip her lower lip himself. Her eyes were begging him to let his lips and tongue explore her body and he fastened his mouth on her breast, laving his tongue over her nipple and suckling gently, kneading with his hand what wouldn't fit into his mouth. He sucked and licked and nipped, knowing he would never tire of her tiny little gasps and moans of pleasure. He trailed his tongue along the flesh between her breasts until he reached the other one, gently pushing the other side of her tank top up and licking and sucking the other breast and squeezing them both. He moved back up her body to swallow the moan she had just elicited and she fumbled with his button again.

And then it was his turn to moan into her mouth as she finished unzipping him and put her hand expertly around him. He figured for as much a virgin he thought she was, she wasn't completely innocent. In his experience, it was always the innocent looking farmer's daughter that you had to watch out for. She moved her hand up and down, a little awkwardly. Okay, so maybe she wasn't that experienced but Daryl didn't give two goddamns because experienced or not, what she was doing was just fine by him and it felt so damned good he almost let her continue. But when he was edging closer and let's just face it, it wouldn't take much for him. It had been a hell of a long while for him, he moved his hand down to stop her smiling at her resounding whimper at the loss of contact. 

Daryl reluctantly broke the kiss and gently pulled her tank top back down where it was supposed to rest and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. From the looks of Beth fluttering her hands up to fix the back of her hair into her perpetual ponytail, he guessed she was having a hard time recovering as well.

He hated to end it but they were in the back hallway of a ramshackle house in the midst of the end of the world. He knew they had to go with what they had for the most part but apocalypse or no, he wasn't going to do this here. Besides her experience or lack thereof needed to be addressed. He wasn't going into this with his eyes shut and she wasn't going to either. 

He decided the best route was the direct one. "You ever done any of this 'afore?" Daryl asked her, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

She shrugged, her face still flushed from their make out session. "'I unno?"

He chuckled at her attempt to mock his words of a few weeks ago. "Nah, you gotta tell me. If you want this with us," He looked at her pointedly, smirking just a bit at the same time his face flushed. Before the world went to hell, there wasn't no talking. Just a few looks leading to grunting and then eventual regret and shame. This couldn't be further from the reality of that old world. It should have struck him odd, but it didn't. 

"Of course I want this Daryl. Don't you?" He should have been ashamed at himself teasing her like that.

"Relax Greene. 'Course I want this. It's practically all I think about." Daryl didn't know if he was more surprised by his own admission or her reaction to it.

"Really?" Beth sat up then and her voice had gone up an octave.

"Shhhh, you want to wake up everyone else?" Daryl chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yes really. I love you right? Of course I want to be with you. I just need to know where we stand. So?" He looked at her expectantly as she still had not answered his question.

"Well I did some stuff with Zach. Nothing major. Just some over the clothes stuff mostly," She blushed again and he thought it was cute.

Daryl nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I ain't gonna have your first time bein' in no rundown house with our family on the other side of the wall." He said resolutely.

Beth looked a little defeated then and he felt sorry for it. But just like the peach schnapps, he didn't want her to have half-assed experiences. He wanted her to be able to really enjoy what it was to be with someone in that way. Hell, he wanted himself to be able to enjoy it. He'd never had anything more than a quick roll in the hay and Beth Greene certainly wasn't that.

"It's nice of you to defend my honor and all but I ain't made of glass and I ain't gonna break" She looked up at him, a slight pout on her face and he reached his hands out and cupped her face in his hands, tilting her face up so she would look directly at him.

"Hey, I want this. I want you, Beth." God did he ever. "I just want it to be….good. You deserve that."

She nodded at him, seeming to understand. "We both deserve it." She corrected, smiling softly at him and leaning in to press her lips to his. It was soft and sweet and tender and when they broke apart finally, she leaned back against him and whispered. "I love you Daryl," she yawned then and he smiled.

"Love you too." He answered. "Now get some sleep. Got a big day ahead of us."

She murmured something else but he figured she didn't hear the last part as she had already started drifting off. He pulled her to him and settled her back in.

He could feel himself start to get sleepier now. He was still slightly hard and there was nothing to be done about that he supposed.

He thought back over their conversation and he knew he was probably in way over his head but he didn't care. He was sinking in this ocean full of thoughts filled with Beth and their future together, even if it was only immediate. He was sinking, maybe even drowning and he didn't care. He was flying high, riding the wave of falling in love with sweet Beth Greene. Yes, it felt right. Definitely something so right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are seriously amazing! This story has gotten so many follows, favorites, reviews and stuff and thangs, it just thrilled my heart. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this southern gal feel special!
> 
> Hope I did the prompt justice. I tried to work in a few parts of the song. I had something different in mind, something like Daryl and Beth counting the stars on one of their nights together, but this seemed to fit better, plus it's way hotter right? Lol I've decided to continue the first part of the story into each day as long as it fits the prompt. That way we get the same Beth/Daryl each day of the week. Hope I can keep writing them the whole week. We shall see! Until next time, xoxoxoxo


	3. She is the Healing

This was originally She is the Healing. I decided to make it all part of the same story to lessen confusion. Thanks! Getting ready to post chapter 4 or day 4's prompt right now!

Prompt from "She is the Sunlight" by Trading Yesterday

As Usual I own nothing, absolutely nothing except the Bethyl craziness that exists in my head. I will glad own that. ;)

She is the Healing

"And if loving her is

Is heartache for me

If holding her means

I have to bleed

Then I am the martyr

Love is to blame

Cause she is the healing

And I am the pain"

Daryl couldn't believe he was following these numbnut assholes all over backwoods Georgia. When Joe and his guys had found him, he was about at the lowest point he'd ever been and that included all the times his old man had beat the shit out of him. He figured after running all night chasing that car with the white cross on the back. The glow of those taillights would forever be imprinted in the back of his mind. He saw them at every turn. He blindly followed along, feeling about as numb as if he had fallen into the creek in mid February. He felt like she had been gone for forever instead of just the four days it had been. He saw her face everywhere he went. He could still smell the sweet smell of strawberries in her hair. Every time they passed a wheat field, the dead weeds swaying in the wind, their flaxen color a stark contrast against the bright blue of the Georgia fall sky, he was reminded of her hair the way it looked when she was trying to tame it back into the ponytail she seemed to favor.

When she was taken from him, they may as well have ripped his heart from his chest and placed it on the seat beside her. He was hollow, empty, a shell of what he even was before he met her. And he hadn't been much of a man then.

Those days with Beth alone after the governor came and took the small haven they managed to carve out of a world gone to shit; like carving out the rotten pieces of a potato and salvaging what remained. After the governor and his men came and attacked, there was nothing left to save. Daryl worried most of all that there was nothing left of him to save. Nothing left but this brittle, broken piece of the man he used to be, was supposed to be, he wasn't sure.

He missed her. Hell, yes he missed her. She had said it.

"You're going to miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon."

Her words haunted his every waking moment and ghosted into his brain at night when he managed to sleep at all. It was a mantra; she's gone, she's gone, she's just gone. That was what he told himself. If he allowed his brain to go the other way and think of her dead, lifeless eyes staring back up at the world that had treated her so badly when she was nothing but all the good and pure the world had left to offer. She had been the sunlight in a land thrust back into the dark ages. Her smile could warm the coldest heart. Her gaze could make a man feel like he was going to burn up from the inside out; just incinerate beneath the smoldering baby blues. He knew he loved her. He knew it. He wanted to tell her but he hadn't been able to figure out how and now it was too late. He figured this was his punishment for not taking the chance with her when he could have. Now he would never know. He would never hold her again.

He was grateful for the hurt losing her had caused. Because if he didn't feel the hurt, he would just be stuck in the haze of numb and that was a dangerous place to be in this world. He was thankful that if loving her meant he had to bleed, it was okay. He was okay with being a martyr, for her, he'd cross a thousand oceans. If loving her meant he had to walk across a bed of nails, he'd gladly remove his boots and tread barefoot. And if she was on the other side of any of those barriers, it would be worth it. He'd do anything to see her again.

Now as they trudged along the same train tracks down the line from where they had found him, he was walking ahead of Joe's group in the dark of night. He looked ahead to see a dark sedan rounding the corner, turning down the road away from them. When he saw the white cross in the back window, he didn't think, just started running, chasing the car. He didn't hear Joe's guys behind him and he didn't glance back to see if they were following. The most important thing was following that car. He was going to find her this time. She was not going to be lost from him forever. She just couldn't be. His heart was pounding fast and he yelled for her, "Beth!" just like he had the other night exactly like this one.

He heard his voice inside his mind and woke up in a sweat, Beth's body pressed close to his, curled into his side. He worked at steadying his breathing and sat up, looking to see if he had been yelling in his sleep. He knew he had been prone to that when she was gone. Maggie and Rick had woken him up gently on more than one occasion lest he bring a whole herd of walkers down on the camp. He pulled her closer to him and rested his arm over her middle, careful not to wake her.

He was thankful to whoever was in charge upstairs nowadays, that he was not back in that place anymore without her. He was not with Joe and his guys. He wasn't at Terminus with all the horrible shit that had gone down there. He was not on the road with everyone after they had left there. He was with Beth, his Beth. He thought back over all those weeks without her.

Whatever pain he had felt in losing her, he had learned from it. He'd never take her presence for granted again. She was the cure to his aching heart, his bruised soul. If he was the pain, then she was surely the healing because he didn't hurt anymore. Not since he had seen her across that field of felled walkers.

In that moment, once he realized she was not just his daydream or his addled brain playing a horrible trick of the mind, the pain was instantly diminished. Not the blinding numb, but the good kind of painkiller. Just the love he felt for her and the love he now knew she felt for him. Their love was strong enough anesthesia for anything this fucking world had to throw at him. As long as Beth was by his side, he knew he had the fortitude to do whatever it took. As long as he drew breath, Beth would always be with him. He'd never let anything happen to her; not ever again because he never wanted to feel that helpless and hopeless again. She was the one bright spot in this world. She was the sunlight and he didn't care of he went blind, he'd be happy to reside in her brilliance until the end of time.

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, whispering in the hush of the night, "I love you." Her lips let forth the sweetest sigh and as he watched her chest rise and fall, he knew he was lost in this love forever. And he was okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose "She is the Sunlight" prompt and was able to work in the numb prompt as well just because I was lucky enough that it fit!


	4. Spontaneous Combustion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Daryl gets bit by the jealous monster?

Spontaneous Combustion

 

"Glass" by Thompson Station. Such a great song!

We may shine, we may shatter

We may be picking up the pieces here on after

We are fragile, we are human.

We are shaped by the light we let through us

We break fast, we are glass.

We might be oil and water, this could be a big mistake

We might burn like gasoline and fire,

It's a chance we'll have to take.

Whatever he had expected after he had made a total ass out of himself in front of everyone, it wasn't this. He had expected her to be angry, to give him hell like she always did. Call him out on his bullshit. He really did feel bad now that he had time to think about the situation. It really had looked like Eugene had his arm around Beth. She had been sitting against the tree with Eugene on one side and Tara on the other. Eugene had passed a tin of beans over Beth's shoulder to Tara and had gotten off balance, making it look like his arm was around her and he was clasping her shoulder. Beth, as slight as she was, had naturally toppled slightly and had an annoyed and surprised look on her face.

Daryl had just come back from hunting and Beth hadn't gone with him, her ankle still bothering her some. Daryl had broken through the tree line about the time the whole exchange went down. Daryl had acted on instinct alone and the fact that Eugene had been making eyes at Beth ever since they had found her. Daryl had strode over to the tree, grabbed Eugene up by the stupid riot gear he was always wearing and had him nose to nose, Eugene having removed the helmet long enough to eat. He had sputtered and blinked at Daryl as Daryl railed at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing putting your hands on Beth?" Daryl had felt a rage like no other except for maybe when Carl had almost gotten raped by Joe's guy. He saw red then and he was seeing red now too.

Beth had reached over and put her hand on his wrist, moving her hand to cover his own. "Daryl, he was giving Tara her lunch, that's all," Beth spoke softly, tilting her head to get him to meet her eyes.

He released his grip on Eugene and let out the air he had trapped in his lungs. With the rate he was huffing and puffing, he knew he needed to lay off the cigarettes. He grabbed his crossbow up off the floor of the forest and stalked back off the way he came. He felt like the biggest ass in the world but he was too chicken-shit to face everyone and apologize. He knew it wasn't Eugene's fault. Beth had told him the night before about a guy back at the hospital who had tried to force himself on her. The thoughts of someone putting their hands on Beth had him completely incensed. She had insisted that the guy had not hurt her and since she had been training with Morgan the few days before the incident happened, she had no problem disarming the guy. She had giggled when she told him. He demanded to know what was so funny as nothing about any of the story amused Daryl in the least.

"I kicked him in the balls and he cried like a girl," Beth had giggled again. Watching her face erupt in a fit of giggles, he had not been able to help himself and had chuckled along with her.

He had been proud in that moment that Beth could handle herself. It was a fucked up world they lived in now. Hadn't been great before the turn, but now it was much worse. Now on top of fighting off real life monsters, you had to fight the living ones too. It was almost as if the apocalypse was an exodus for the craziest psycho fuckers the world had left. Every time he got to thinking that way, he always remembered Beth and her insistence that there were still good people. He guessed she was right, but he knew one thing. He sure as hell wasn't one of them.

Beth had found him moments later after he stalked away from camp and he had been forced to turn around and face her, and he had braced himself for the onslaught of scolding he was about to receive. He felt like an errant school boy. But instead she just smiled at him.

So now he was standing here, wondering what alter universe he had stepped into because by all rights, Beth should be giving him hell right about now. He had behaved like a complete ass and he deserved it, after all.

"Beth, I know what you're gonna say," Daryl began and Beth stepped forward and took the bow from him and placed it at their feet. He watched her warily, her expression mysterious as she smirked at him.

"Beth, I-", he tried again but then Beth gave him a sultry look and stepped forward and placed one finger over his lips. He had an odd urge to reach up and grab her wrist and direct that soft little pointer finger into his mouth and suck the fingertip and watch her run her tongue across her bottom lip.

All of it ridiculous of course. They were probably getting ready to have their first fist. Well not first really, he thought back to the moonshine shack. Wasn't likely they were getting ready to make out.

"Shhh, Daryl, I know what you thought you saw. I get it. But you have to understand," Beth took her finger off his lips and he missed the warmth of her skin against his immediately. She brought both hands up to cup either side of his face, running her thumbs over his jawline on either side. "You don't have to worry. I'm yours. Everyone knows it." She looked up at him, her bright baby blues meeting his. "Even silly Eugene knows it" Beth stood up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his in a soft sweet kiss and then rested back on the flats of her feet.

Daryl sighed and where he had his fists clenched at his sides before, he brought both hands up and rested one against each hip. "You're mine?" Daryl repeated the words back to her, feeling stupid but needing to know. They had declared their feelings for each other but he didn't know how any of this was supposed to work. "I really don't know how this is supposed to work Beth. I ain't ever really had a girlfriend before." He hated having to admit shit like that to her. He had a girlfriend in middle school. They had written each other love letters and he had held her hand once. He really didn't think that counted. This thing with him and Beth; it was a real relationship. But he didn't know how to define it really. He didn't know the rules.

"I'm yours, Daryl. That's all you need to know. I don't want anyone else. Not ever." Beth said softly and looking up at him, that smile lighting up her whole face like she had all the answers to the questions he held close to his heart.

"I don't want anyone else either. Beth, you're…." He struggled with the words, just like always and he wished he could be eloquent like some of those bastards he saw on t.v. They always knew what to fucking say. "You're the only person I've ever felt this way about. I ain't never loved anyone, not like I do you." Daryl toed the dirt of the forest floor with his boot and cast his eyes down. He didn't know what she was going to think about that. Probably that he was the biggest loser ever. Who hasn't ever had a girlfriend before?

"I've never felt this way about anyone either Daryl," Beth's voice was a whisper and it slid across the skin of his cheek, fluttering, smooth as honey. "You're my first. My first love. My first boyfriend. My first everything." Beth looked at him then, her smile had grown wide and she brought her hands from they curled around his neck and curled her fingers over his biceps.

As she said those words to him, all rational thought left. He was Beth's first. He knew she had been a virgin but he figured she had fallen in love at least once. It did funny things to his heart to realize that she was going to be his first love and he hers. "You ain't gonna just be my first Beth," He said resolutely. "You'll be my last."

Her eyes flashed to his then, like she hadn't been expecting it and tears welled up in her eyes. Shit, leave it to him to fuck it all up again. But then she wrapped her arms around his waist and tucked her head right under his chin, just like she had that first time after he had gone to tell her about Zach. "You'll be my last too, Daryl Dixon." She whispered against him.

He sighed and pulled his arms tightly around her and he didn't want to let her go. He hoped someone was skinning the catch he had brought back from his hunt. But right now he was just gonna stand here and hold sweet Beth Greene.

She pulled away after a bit and looked up at him. "You'll have to apologize to Eugene, ya know," She said in that way that left no room for argument.

He grumbled for a minute and then reluctantly looked at her. He'd really rather eat peanut butter on molded bread. He pulled back to look her in the face and she was smirking at him. "If you say so." It was the most noncommittal answer he could come up with. He couldn't have her thinking she could have him whipped. Who was he kidding? She already did.

She smiled then and her hair was all messy and the wispy strands around her face were curling delicately along her jawline. He reached up and ran his fingers up her neck and replace the errant strand behind her ear, wondering if he remembered what she tasted like right there where her ear dipped down to her neck. All they had done for the past week was make out whenever the chance came up. It was going a little further each time and pretty soon, Daryl knew they wouldn't be able to stop themselves. His dick twitched in his pants now thinking about how her nipples get hard so quickly when he runs his tongue across them. He moved away from her then, forcing away all those thoughts that was going to make him want to push her up against a tree.

"We better head back to camp, Greene," He reached down and held out his hand for her to take. But instead of gripping her hand in his and lacing their fingers together like she usually did, she pulled hard on his hand tugging her over to the tree she was standing up against. He looked up at her, startled at her sudden change of mood. She was smiling like a proverbial Cheshire cat.

He grinned at her. "Beth, we been over this. I ain't gonna do this out here up against a tree." He gently chided.

"Who said anythin' 'bout doing 'it'", her expression was coy and cocky, a lethal combination if you asked him.

His dick twitched in his pants again. So much for putting away all those errants thoughts. He drew a sharp breath as Beth reached between them and tugged on his belt buckle, forcing his hips against hers, pressing her into the tree. He brought one arm up and braced himself on the tree just above her head, her blonde ponytail swishing his way and sweeping over his arm at times. He groaned as their hips met. This was new. Anything so far hadn't provided near this much contact as they held their bodies away from each other, touching but knowing if they got too close they'd be caught up and helpless in stopping it.

He wondered all the time, hell the thoughts consumed him, of what it would be like with Beth. How their bodies would move together and how it would feel. And how badly he wanted her was about all he could think of most days. He loved this, what they had, the sexy smiles, the looks and the knowing glances. But to actually go through with it and do everything he wanted to do with her, it scared the hell out of him. He hoped they weren't making a big mistake. He figured once they finally did get around to it, they might ignite a fire similar to the one they had set at the moonshine shack that night. It might be the perfect combination of gasoline and fire and they would spontaneously combust as soon as skin met skin, but he didn't care. He was willing to take that chance. Because to not feel all this with her, to not feel absolutely all of it, he couldn't bear the thought of it. As scared as he was, he loved her. And with that came the natural progression of things. He would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to it, finally being able to really be with her. Never mind what they were supposed to call it. He didn't figure absolutely everything with Beth had to be defined. She was big on that; letting them just be.

With one hand braced against the tree, he used the other to place against her hip and flashed her a wolfish grin as he felt the bare skin there where her sweater had ridden up, exposing a smooth patch of skin that he now was rubbing his thumb across, eliciting a sigh from her lips.

Beth dropped her head back against the tree and Daryl didn't waste time in bringing his lips to her neck, suckling gently at the flesh there, careful not to bruise or mar the alabaster surface of the tender flesh there. He never wanted to see marks on her skin. Beth moved her hands to his hips and pulled her closer against him and he knew without a doubt there was no way she could miss his erection pressing into her. She sidestepped slightly as his lips continued their onslaught against her neck, kissing his way up the sides and right behind her ear. Daryl pressed into her and met with no resistance. Glancing down he realized she had spread her legs just a bit more apart and he stepped easily between them, unable to resist grinding against her slightly with the new contact. He drew in another sharp breath as she hitched her knee up against his hip and he could feel her heat against his cock now.

Suddenly Daryl wanted to know what she tasted like and he moved his lips over her jaw quickly sliding his lips up until he met her lips and slid his tongue inside her already waiting mouth. Tongues tangling and lips bruising, he kissed her and realized that he needed to taste more of her and he had a wicked thought that needed to be carried out.

He glanced about to be certain they were still alone. He went back to kissing her, her lips soft and pliant under his. Her fingers fluttered about his belt buckle. Daryl braced the one hand above her head right against the tree and the other he let skim down over her shoulder and then traveling to the center and over one breast and then the other, his palm flat against her sweater. When he got to her navel, he walked his fingers lower and lower and pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss for a moment, gauging her reaction. He knew he had never seen anything like it, her eyes half lidded with passion and her back slightly arched, pressing her breasts out even further. "God, Beth you're so goddamned beautiful," he breathed before placing his lips back on hers.

"Kiss me," Beth breathed against his lips and he was helpless to deny her. He continued his original mission and skimmed his fingers lower until he was at her waistband. Beth's lips stopped moving for a moment and he could feel her hesitation but also her curiosity. She wiggled her hips against him and he smiled against her mouth, knowing that was his signal.

He unbuttoned her jeans and slowly slid her zipper down, moving his hand back up and parting the fabric, stretching it a bit and then slid his hand lower, fingers toying with the waistband of her panties. He pulled away then because this was something that he really wanted to see. He looked at her and her eyes shifted to his, blue bleeding into black and he knew she was gone. He grinned at her then as he dipped his hand beneath the elastic and hovered at the top of her sex, feeling her breath coming in pants. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip in anticipation. As he slipped one finger into her folds, she was so wet he almost came with the thought of it, all that velvety softness slick and ready for him. He twitched his finger against her clit and he felt her knees buck slightly. He moved his hand from the tree down to her back, pressing it against the small of her back, holding her up and against him, allowing just enough room for his hand between them.

He continued his exploration of Beth's pussy, flicking his finger back over that now hardened nub and he slid his hand a little lower, slipping his middle finger right inside her opening and swirling it around as he rubbed his thumb over her clit in slow circles. He looked up at Beth and he knew he had never seen anything more beautiful, her head thrown back, her mouth forming a tiny 'o', her chest heaving making her breasts rise with each breath. He brought his lips back to her neck then as his fingers continued their assault on her, moving his thumb over her clit then, moving it into tighter and tighter circles and he sucked gently at her neck then, and he heard a moan escape her lips. He pulled his lips away then and watched her, not wanting to miss one single beat of Beth's orgasm.

Her breath was coming faster as he rubbed her clit and alternately swirled and flicked his middle finger inside of her. She brought her hands up to surround him then and clutched desperately at his vest. "Daryl, oh.." She breathed. "Oh, oh, oh," She was getting louder and he moved his mouth over hers, swallowing her throaty moans as she fell apart beneath his hand, her legs shaking and he held her up, knowing that watching Beth come undone was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. As she finally came down he removed his hand from her panties and brought the finger up, pulling away from her as he did. He slid his middle finger into his mouth, sucking slowly while he pulled it back out of his mouth, savoring the taste of her and he smiled as he looked at her lazily, knowing that the next time he tasted her, his tongue would get there before his fingers did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hi, yeah!? That was some smut. haha I'm a little nervous about this because I don't normally let Daryl and Beth "get there" that quickly in my stories. So yeah, I'm nervous. Let me know how I did huh?


	5. Northern Wind

Northern Wind

"Northern Wind" by City and Colour.

You're the Northern Wind

Sending shivers down my spine

Oh my love

Oh my love

Oh my love

You don't know

What you do to me"

Daryl watched Beth as she crossed the room to him and he held his breath. Never had he seen her look more beautiful, her hair shimmering in the moonlight streaming through the bedroom window. Never had he seen the look in her eyes right now, all quiet hesitation warring with desire as they flitted his way where he waited sitting on the bed where he had just donned a clean pair of sweat pants she had managed to scavenge. She was good like that, always able to sift through debris and meaningless looking shit, memories of bygone days, to find the items they needed to survive another day.

The group had been on the road for several days, but it had seemed like weeks instead. It was just starting to warm up, the first hints of spring on the horizon after the longest bleakest winter they had had since the turn. Daryl had thought that the winter they had spent on the run after the farm had been overrun had been the worst but he was wrong. This past winter had tested every ounce of fortitude they all had managed to salvage from this world gone to shit.

From having to leave their prison home and losing their family, the days of desperation when it had seemed there was no reason to continue, fighting for their lives at Terminus, to their final relentless quest to find Beth again, it had been the longest darkest winter any of them could remember. Finally early this afternoon, not even three hours after they had left their previous camp in search of another place of shelter before continuing on to the Alexandria Safe Zone, they had stumbled upon this lodge, the Lazy S Ranch. It had evidently been some kind of golf and ski resort back before the turn, nestled in the gently rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Parkway. So far off the beaten path, it was completely untouched by their post apocalyptic world and rather than having that hollowed out feeling most places exuded, this one oozed warmth and comfort. Quite simply, it felt like coming home after a long and perilous journey, which Daryl knew that's exactly what they had just endured. The place had more than enough rooms and Beth and Daryl had glanced at each other as they had explored it looking for a place to rest for the night. That had been hours ago; after eating a hearty supper of canned stew and crackers and a can of those damned infernal peaches, they had all been able to take brief, albeit cold, showers as the place had its own water supply.

Daryl unconsciously licked ran his tongue over his lower lip, still tasting some of the peaches from supper and that started his thought train, wondering if Beth's lips were going to taste the same. Beth was a picture of ethereal beauty, her hair only still slightly damp from the shower and she was running her delicate fingers through the strands now attempting to tame them into some semblance of order. He loved that about her, loved the way her hair just refused to do her bidding and she was perpetually exasperated at its unruliness. Daryl reached beside him to the small brush that had tumbled out of her bag on the bed and went to hand it to her and then thought better of it.

He scooted backwards on the bed and slid his legs to the sides giving her ample room to sit. "Why don't ya let me brush it for ya," he said, his voice coming out much lower and gruffer than he had intended but holy shit, the things she did to him. He knew she was not completely guileless, but the way she walked to him, hips gently swaying above legs that went straight on to forever in the impossibly tiny shorts she had donned for sleep, left him breathless in anticipation.

She opened her mouth in surprise and her eyes flicked from his to the brush. "You sure you want to?" Beth asked, taking her bottom lip between her teeth and Daryl had to fight the urge to pull her against him and flip her over on the bed. He didn't know what it was about her biting her lower lip that did it to him, but every time she did he developed an itch to make her throw her head back and surrender to his lips.

So he just cleared his throat and shrugged non-commitally suddenly very aware of how it had sounded, him wanting to brush her hair out. Him, Daryl Dixon, brushing a girl's hair. Not just any girl. His girl. His Beth. That was how he had come to think of her and every day when he awakened with her in his arms, he marveled that he could have this. Could have her.

She grinned at him then. "You're so cute when you do that." She said as she turned, accepting his offer in her quiet way.

"Do what?" She positioned herself between his legs and nestled in between his legs, giving him enough room to work at the snarls and tangles. He gripped the brush in his hand, the coolness of the plastic a stark contrast to the heat coming out from his palms. He longed to run his hands over every surface of her body and he tried not to think too much on the fact that they were alone now. They had claimed a room for themselves on the top floor of the lodge and it had gone unspoken between them all afternoon and evening, the tension stretched between them, palpable and charged. Would this really be the night they could finally be alone? Together? When they could finally make this happen. Could really explore each other and let themselves feel it all, the rest of the world outside this room be damned? Because that's what he wanted and if the looks Beth had been sending him all day were any indication, it's what she wanted to.

He brought the brush up to her hair and worked the bristles into the strands, careful to hold his hand at the top so as to lessen the tension on the strands.

"When you shrug your shoulders and say 'I'unno", she shrugged her shoulders in imitation of him and he smirked behind her. She was so damned cute and he was reminded of an earlier time when she had called him out on his hesitant ways and inability to express himself. That night in the funeral home, the night of first tentative feelings being laid out, him feeling exposed and open, a little afraid, but ready to feel it all the same.

"Can't help it," he muttered, bringing the brush down in soft even strokes and mesmerized by the softness of the strands as they came to dry against his hand. "You just…." He let his voice trail off then. He didn't know how to put into words what she did to him. What she made him think. What she made him feel. What she made him want to do. Like that little peace of heaven on earth they had found in that funeral home. They could have stayed there. Could have stayed there forever. He was feeling it again now too. This lodge was its own little haven and up here on the top floor, all the others having chosen to stay on the lower levels, it was like they were all alone again.

Beth turned around, shifting her body so she was nestled between his legs and rearranged herself so her legs draped sideways over his. "I what?" Her eyes met his then and he knew that all pretense was over. She had sat down for him to brush her hair and sort through the perpetual unruliness. He knew that it was now time to sort through something entirely different, all this tension between them new but the same.

Beth reached up between them and ran her hands over his bare chest and dipped lower and lower, hovering above the waistband of his sweatpants and he held his breath as she skimmed fingers over him gently and he saw all the desire pent up in her eyes, but he saw something else too and it constricted his chest and stole his breath all at once and a shiver traveled up his spine. He looked at her then and noticed that the shirt she had on that nearly covered the top of her shorts was very familiar. "Hey is that my shirt you're wearin'?" he grinned at her as he brought his fingers up to the hem of it, toying with the seam, his thumb grazing the skin beneath and he took in a deep breath at the things it made him feel. It's the way it always was with her. He felt everything and when they were alone like this, he let himself sink into it and get lost.

"Yep," she gave him a quick nod and grinned. "Nice try though. You're not gettin' off that easy. What is it that I do?" She challenged and skimmed her fingers lower still, her fingertips just beneath the waistband now and his cock twitched predictably in his pants.

"Girl, you don't know, yet?" He growled at her and brought his hand up to hers and he didn't know if he meant to stop her or move her hand lower, so overtaken he was with everything he was feeling for her. "what you do to me, my love," he whispered. He looked at her then and let her see it all. Just bared his soul. He would do that for no one else but Beth Greene. He was overtaken by a tenderness then and he shifted their bodies so he could lay her back against the bed, nestling her head on the pillow, her freshly brushed tresses fanned out around her head.

Beth sighed then. "You do the same to me too, ya know," she whispered. And he knew then that all pretense was over. This was it. This was the moment they had been drifting towards for weeks now. They had played and taunted one another every single stolen minute they could. He had brought her to orgasm that one time and since then they hadn't had another chance to be totally alone. Now that they had the chance he had thought he would be nervous but Beth had that way about her and the words she had just spoken calmed him.

"You sure you're ready for this, Beth?" He whispered from where he hovered, half his body hovered over hers as he just looked at her, peering into her eyes to find the assurance he needed. That she wanted this as bad as he did. Once they crossed this boundary he knew it would be forever changed. Hell it was changed already. They were helpless to this path they had wandered down and Daryl knew that there was no turning back now. The only thing that could stop him now was Beth herself saying that she had changed her mind.

He held his breath waiting for her answer and it seemed an eternity but she answered immediately, nodding her head fervently. "Daryl, I've never been more sure of anythin' in my life. I love you." Her voice came out as a whisper and hung between them, this promise, looking up at him her face full of hope and sultry anticipation.

"I love you too," it slipped from his lips easier now, just like breathing.

And with that, all talking was over. All but the most urgent whispers, "yes", "there", grunts and sighs the only sounds that punctuated the air in the room.

Daryl didn't waste time in preamble, just lowered his lips to hers hungrily, then tenderly, then hungrily again. His body and mind were at war. He wanted this to be slow and tender and he fought to regain control, kissing her slowly now, savoring the moment, letting every single negative thought slip away from his mind and concentrating on her, only her. Only Beth.

He moved his lips over hers and slipped his tongue expertly into her mouth. They had gotten really good at this, the kissing, and had learned what each other liked, their lips exploring and tongues teasing, teeth nipping lightly and it was slow, sweet, tender. His hands started their journey as they did every time they were alone, and he marveled again at the softness of her, such a stark contrast from his own skin. Every plane of her body was a curve, a nuance he loved, and he let his lips travel over her jaw, pressing small kisses as his hands skimmed over her belly, his thumb tracing a circle over her navel where her shirt had ridden up and he suddenly wanted her completely naked beneath him. He pushed her shirt up and she sighed, breath blowing against his ear and he shivered, the sensation traveling over his body like a cold northern wind whispering down. She sat up briefly, long enough to pull her shirt over her head, her small round breasts springing free, just slightly jostling with the movement and he looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers, as he skimmed his fingers lower, flicking his thumbs inside the waistband of her shorts and as he shimmied them down, Beth raising her hips quickly off the bed as he removed them, he went instantly hard realizing that she was not wearing any panties. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her, laying beneath him, completely exposed. He eyes drank her in, the sight of her making him thirst and quenching it all at the same time; eyes gone dark, the blues barely visible against the black of her pupils, lips parted slightly, breasts heaving as her breaths came in pants, the smooth alabaster of the soft flesh of her belly, the curve of her hip, her long shapely legs, and back up again to rest on the places his lips longed to taste, the soft tangle of curls inviting him in at the apex of her thighs.

He moved his eyes back to hers again. "Do you trust me?" he breathed and she nodded resolutely, understanding dawning in her eyes.

"Open your legs for me, Beth." He whispered. She moaned at his words as he moved down over her body and she dropped her legs open, his hands never breaking contact with her skin, skimming every surface, applying light pressure as he went as he moved lower as he positioned himself between her legs. He looked down at her then, the hair over her sex glistening and he knew she was so wet. So wet for him. And he told her so and she gasped as he touched the inside of her thigh. It blew his mind that she was so sensitive to his touch and he could hardly wait to put his tongue to her and make her come undone. 

His head positioned between her thighs, he watched as she gripped the sheets on the bed. He skimmed one hand up the inside of each thigh and pressed her legs even further apart, exposing her fully, the pink flesh inviting him in and as much as he wanted to do this slowly, he remembered it then. Remembered how she tasted the last time he had been this close and he just needed to repeat the experience. Like right fucking now and he moved his mouth down in one predatory move and flicked his tongue against her slit, delving deeper until the tip of his tongue found that already hardened nub. Beth gasped and cursed and he smiled against her lips, flicking his tongue over her again, because she was not given to such words coming out of her sweet mouth.

He moved his tongue back and forth in staccato movements and moved his hand up and slid one finger inside her hot, wet opening and marveled at the tightness that remained there and his cock twitched against the mattress in anticipation. He traced his tongue up and down her narrow slit while he pumped his finger in and out of her mimicking what he wanted his cock to do, but he could wait. Right now, he wanted, no he needed, to make her fall apart. He continued his onslaught, his finger working in and out and his tongue flicking maddening circles over her clit, applying just the amount of pressure and he heard her gasp and her hips bucked up off the bed as she brought her hands up to clutch the back of his head. Then she wove her fingers through his hair, gripping lightly and then tighter as she held his head in place, which was funny to him, because he was not going anywhere. One final thrust of his finger and another flick of his tongue and she was spiraling over the edge, her orgasm gripping her and her hands gripping his head tighter and he had the thought to bring his other hand up to her hip and hold her down, rendering her helpless to feel it all. "Daryl!" she screamed his name once as her muscles quivered and jumped and jerked and he knew that he had never seen anything hotter than Beth Greene coming undone, her orgasm shattering her and his fingers putting her back together.

As she finally stopped shuddering her eyes opened and met his as he stood up and shucked his sweatpants, letting them drop to the floor and he watched her eyes go wide at the sight of him, his cock having sprung from his pants as they fell to the floor. He knew he was larger than average. "Don't worry baby, we'll go slow." He promised her, positioning himself above her and looking into her eyes.

"I know. I don't care," She breathed. "Daryl, that," Beth looked frustrated at her lack of words and he chuckled. Beth Greene, speechless. Now that was something to see.

Her face was flushed with pleasure. "Daryl that was amazing," she finally breathed and he pulled her against him as he kissed her, letting her taste herself and he ached to bury himself inside her but knew she needed a minute.

"Glad you liked it." He laughed again and he loved that she did this to him. Made him laugh. Made him smile. Made him happy.

"Liked it? I loved it!" she insisted and he loved that too. That she just told him everything. Beth held nothing back and the more he was with her, he was holding back less and less each day.

"Are you ready for what comes next?" he asked her propping himself up on his hands on either side of her head, looking down at her laid out so perfectly beneath him.

Beth moved her legs up to grip his hips and wrapped herself completely around him, jutting her hips upwards and his cock came to rest naturally against her heat. She nodded, "Daryl, I don't think I've ever been more ready for anythin' in my life," she whispered sweetly.

"Me too." Those were the only words he could manage and he slowly flexed his hips forward, his cock hard, pressing against her, meeting the tightness as he pressed deeper and deeper still and he knew the moment she felt it, him breaking through that last barrier between them and he forced himself to remain still, giving her time to adjust. As much as his primal side wanted to press deeper, his tenderness and love for her was much stronger and he waited, listening for her cue. Overcome with tenderness for her, he pressed a kiss to her lips then, softly, just the barest hint of a kiss. He was overwhelmed that she wanted him. Wanted him like this. Was giving herself to him so completely, never having done this with anyone else. She was giving him something she had never given anyone else and in a lot of ways he knew he was giving her the same thing. Parts of him he had never allowed himself to even feel let alone give them to someone like he did her. But he wanted to give it all over to her. Wanted her to own him and she did. She owned his heart and soul and he gladly gave it.

Beth whispered then, her voice small, sure and soft in the dark, "I'm okay Daryl" The statement became a request. It was a prayer. It was an oath and she shifted her hips and brought her hands up to wrap around each arm, gripping him tightly as she thrust her hips upward experimentally and they both groaned, their passion an echo to the other.

Daryl moved slowly at first, hips thrusting in and out and he brought his length out of her before slowly entering her again and starting the cycle over again until it became a steady, flowing rhythm, hips rotating slowly as he let himself fill her up completely and he buried his face into her neck and groaned at the exquisite tightness of her heat and he knew he wasn't going to last long despite the fact that he wanted to fuck her right into the mattress all night long.

Beth began to meet his movements, thrust for thrust and she gasped and her thighs clenched around him as her heels dug pleasantly into his ass, her fingers coming up to clasp behind his neck and he gathered her up in his arms, holding her close against him as he ground his hips into her and he felt it then, the slow build of tension in his core and he knew he was close. He continued his motions and buried his face in her neck and she gripped the back of his head as he felt it climb higher and higher then up his spine and he felt himself slip over that edge and had just enough presence of mind to pull himself out and felt it all, every muscle in his body quivering and clenching as he spilled himself onto her thigh. He groaned out the last few moments of his release and as he felt himself coming down, rearranged their bodies so he could face her. He needed to see her. Needed to see it in her eyes and hoped he would find what he hoped for.

Several minutes passed, their breathing finally returning to normal as she rested in his arms and then pulled back to look at him. "Wow." She breathed.

He chuckled then and closed his eyes as he pressed his lips to hers and thoroughly kissed her, the smell of sex hanging between them and it was a drug. The best kind of high. He propped himself on his elbow to gaze at her, her hair mussed, cheeks flushed and a sweet smile on her lips.

"Yeah, me too. God Beth. You're so fucking perfect," he whispered, looking into her eyes and finding it there. That hope. That endearing way about her that made him feel like nothing could ever touch them. Could never even come close to touching the way he felt about her.

"I love you." He said it then and it was rare that he was able to make himself say those words more than even once a day but he knew now that he was helpless to it. This love he felt for her was an infinity all its own.

"I love you too, Daryl. So much." They both sighed in unison and rested against each other.

"Maybe we can stay here," he said reminding both of them of another time he had uttered those words. She looked at him and grinned like she had been waiting for him to say something just like that. "Here in the lodge?" She said, her eyes teasing him then as she raised up on her arms, her fingers gripping his biceps and pinning him lightly down. "I don't know if anyone else would want to," she giggled.

He shook his head at her and gave her a wolfish grin. "Nope. Here in bed," he growled as he flipped her on her back and hovered over her again. "All day. Every day." She giggled again as he kissed her neck and lost himself in her scent, strawberries and sex.

He settled back down beside her and drew her into his arms, his fingers tracing light circles over the soft skin of her back. "Some day, Beth, we'll find a place. To just be. Together."

"I know. But we're together now. That's all that really matters," She whispered as she smiled up at him and pressed a kiss to his lips, her eyes fluttering closed and he knew he had found his place in this world. The rest of the world had gone to shit outside but he didn't care. He had found his place beside this impossibly beautiful girl. Beth. His Beth. He was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI everyone! Hope you all liked this chapter. :)


	6. Maybe We'll Just Stay Here

Something I Need – One Republic

Maybe We'll Just Stay Here

You've got something I need

In this world full of people,

There's one killing me

And if we only die once I wanna live with you.

I know that we're not the same

But I'm so damn glad that we made it

To this time…..

Daryl laid there in the bed watching the sun rise and he knew he should probably get up but he just couldn't make himself move his arm where her head currently rested. He gazed down at her and he wondered if there would ever come a time when it didn't steal his breath. Daryl had never felt that he deserved anything like this. Still wasn't sure he did but now that they've gone down this path there was no way he was turning back now. It had taken him a life time to love and he wasn't going to let go of it, deserving or not.

Beth woke to find that Daryl was staring at her and watching her sleep. She opened her eyes sleepily, very aware of his presence. She was also very aware of the fact that she was completely naked beneath the covers and unless she missed her guess, her right breast was completely exposed. Cool air was blowing down over the exposed parts of her body and making her shiver.

"Good mornin'," She said sleepily and that earned her a smile from Daryl. She wished he would smile more because it looked so good on him. She tilted her head back and saw the moment his eyes drifted to her lips.

"'Mornin'," Daryl murmured gruffly. Beth's toes curled at his early morning gravely voice. Sounded like sex. She blushed then thinking of all the things they had done last night. She had an unfamiliar ache and she suspected it was because of the sheer number of times they had done it. Four times and five if you counted the final attempt, but they were both so worn out they had finally given up. They had been at the lodge for several days now and their routine was simple, spend time with their group in the morning, eat lunch, go hunting and right after dinner they were back in their rooms all night. As if by some tacit agreement, no one said a word to them. Except for Michonne, she was always giving him that look and smirking like she knew what was going on. He figured she did.

Daryl loved morning after Beth. It was heady watching her wake up and then smile up at him shyly, the flush creeping into her cheeks. He bent down then to seal his lips over hers, teasing her lips with the tip of his tongue and she opened her mouth willingly for him to slide his tongue inside for a slow sweet kiss.

Beth loved this. Loved laying in bed with Daryl. Loved kissing him. She had nearly died the night before with all the things he had confessed to her. It was more than she had ever hoped for when they had started down this path. But he had told her he loved her. That meant something. It meant the world, especially since this was Daryl Dixon they were talking about. Daryl didn't readily admit feelings to anyone. Well, he did to her, she amended and smiled against his lips.

"What are you grinnin' bout?" Daryl reached a hand down to tickle her ribs, eliciting a squeal from her lips.

"Daryl!" she admonished and he placed a finger over her lips.

"Shhh," he whispered, then pulled his finger away and reached to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. "We're going to have to work on that." Daryl said, chuckling.

"Work on what?" Beth asked as she bent her head to his neck and began to spread slow sweet kisses across the tender skin there.

"Your mouth," Daryl managed to get out between gasps.

"What about my mouth?" Beth whispered right by his ear and he felt an involuntary shiver travel down his spine. If she kept this up, they'd be getting something started again. And he wasn't sure he was up for it honestly. They had already done it so many times last night that they had literally fucked themselves unconscious. It wasn't a bad way to fall asleep in all honesty.

Daryl cursed, "Fuck, Beth!" as she kissed her way down his neck to his chest. "Nothing, darlin' your mouth is just fine," he breathed.

She sat up abruptly then and gave him the most devious smile. "God, woman you are going to be the death of me, you know," he groaned and fought the urge to reach beneath the covers and readjust himself. He didn't know how she did it, but he was always turned on when it came to Beth.

"Sorry, Daryl, this is just all so," Beth faltered then, feeling the blush creep up in her cheeks. How could she tell him that being with him was the most wonderful thing she had ever experienced and she just wanted to stay in bed with him for a week, maybe more. It was new and exciting and she loved him. He loved her too and if it weren't for the dead roaming the earth, she figured they could probably just ride off into the sunset together.

"It's what?" He looked at her warily, wondering if this was it. When the other shoe would drop. He cursed himself inwardly. He had never needed anyone before, but right now Daryl needed Beth to tell him that this. What they had, was forever. No turning back. Because that's how it was for him. He needed her to feel the same way.

"I ain't never needed anybody for anythin'"

Beth saw the look that crept into his face. She'd seen that look before. Like back when they were playing their "I Never" game and she had asked if he had gone to prison. One of the things that killed her the most while she was gone was replaying that scene in her head. And then later outside with Daryl taunting that walker when he had finally laid it all out. Exactly how he felt. All these moments came rushing back at her now.

"No Daryl, that's not what I meant. This, all of this, with you. I," She looked down and then back up at him, meeting his eyes and bringing her hand up to the side of his face, forcing his eyes to hers. "I love it. All of it. We had everything going against us, but we made it."

"I'm not like Michonne or Carol or Maggie, but I made it"

Daryl looked at her then, with her way, her always sure as fuck way about her and he could have wept. He hoped one day he wouldn't doubt her anymore. She was just so perfect, so goddamned perfect and he had never had anything like that before. Anyone like her before. And he never wanted anyone else.

"I love you Beth. I don't reckon I'll ever see what it is you see in me," He held up a hand as soon as her mouth opened, knew she was about to argue her point. "Nah, wait, I know. I get it. We just get this one life. And even more so now. The world has gone to shit. But if I can have this, with you, it's okay. The world can just go ahead and go to hell. I love you Beth. I want you. And no one else." He looked up at her then because that was more than he ever thought he would get out. And he hoped she caught what he was meaning. He wanted her forever. Just her and no one else. He wanted her to be his.

"Of course no one else," Beth said her eyes gone soft with all that he had just told her. Just when she thought she had him figured out, he went and changed it all up. Recognition dawned on her then and she opened her mouth in a tiny 'o'. "Wait, what?" She felt confused and she hoped she wasn't reading too much into this. She prodded and she hoped she wasn't pushing too much.

"You know," Daryl said, shrugging his shoulders just like he knew annoyed her and he grinned at her then.

"Daryl Dixon you better tell me right now or I'm getting up from this bed and no sex for you today," Beth teased.

And the next words that slipped from his lips were as big a shock to him as her, "Now is that any way to start a marriage?" Daryl said, very tongue-in-cheek. He held his breath and waited for her reaction.

Her eyes snapped up to his. "Daryl Dixon are you asking me what I think you are asking me?" her eyes filled with tears then and her heart threatened to fight its way out of her chest.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he admitted giving her a sheepish grin. Neither one said a word for a few very long seconds, an eternity it seemed.

"So yeah, Beth, will you marry me." Not the most eloquent thing he could have said but it was out there. He didn't even know how people got married anymore. Didn't figure it mattered. What mattered is if she said yes.

"Yes," Beth nodded her head furiously and threw her arms around him then. "Yes I'll marry you, you crazy wonderful beautiful man."

Daryl clutched her to his chest then and he knew if he died right now, then he would die a happy man. He had said that they only get one life. He wanted his to be with her. They could live together, fight together and love together. Didn't matter to him, as long as they were together and they were.

He had thought he hadn't ever needed anyone. But it was all a lie he constructed, trussed up to hold up the walls around his heart. He needed her. He needed Beth. And he liked to think she needed him too.

"Pretty soon I won't need you at all"

"I need you Beth. I said I didn't need anybody, but I need you." He whispered against her neck.

She pulled back to look at him then. "Daryl don't you know, I need you too. I don't ever want to be without you again. It almost killed me."

"Me too," Daryl said, looking at her, seeing the full light of love shining in her face, just like always. He wanted to just find some place for them to be together. No more runs. No more walkers. No more psychopaths trying to steal the little bit of happy they had managed to find. Where they were now, this lodge, was the happiest they had been in months.

"Maybe we can just stay here…..We'll just make it work"

Maybe they would stay. Just maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys that completes the series of Prompts from the great week of Bethyl 2014. I really enjoyed writing these and I hope you enjoyed reading them. Hit me up on Tumblr at sassygirl42 if you ever care to fangirl over our OTP! I love each and every one of you!

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Okay, so I did it and I would be lying if I wasn't just a teensy bit proud! I managed to work the lyrics in and even managed to add a "secret" to it. Whoop! I'm so enjoying this first day of official Bethyl Week. I am so proud to be part of this fandom. Everyone is so nice and it really is all sunshine and rainbows when we all get together! Yup, yup, I've finally lost it. I'm giddy with all the anticipation of reading everything everyone has written and the fanvids and edits. It's just beautiful. Happy Bethyl Week my dears! Grab a glass of moonshine and let's toast to Beth and Daryl finding each other in season five and making all our head canons pale in comparison to the real canon Gimple has planned for us. Keep calm and Bethyl on! Love all you guys so much.


End file.
